Guidant Accepts a New J&J Offer

Guidant Corp.'s board accepted a richer $71-a-share takeover offer from Johnson & Johnson late Friday, rejecting a larger but potentially more time-consuming competing offer from Boston Scientific Corp., according to people familiar with the negotiations.

The Guidant board was willing to accept the lower offer because the medical-device maker still has some concern about antitrust reviews of Boston Scientific's offer,...